Former BYU, Chicago Bears QB Jim McMahon opens up about dementia

Former NFL football quarterback Jim McMahon speaks during a news conference Tuesday, June 17, 2014 in Chicago. McMahon spoke of his ongoing battle with dementia that he believe is related to his years of hits he took while playing in the league. McMahon is part of a federal lawsuit filed in San Francisco accusing teams of illegally dispensing powerful narcotics and other drugs to keep players on the field without regard for their long-term health. He led the Chicago Bears to victory in the 1985 Super Bowl.

Stacy Thacker, Associated Press

Summary

At his darkest moments a few years ago, when the pain in his head was just about too much to bear, former Chicago Bears quarterback Jim McMahon thought about killing himself.

“The NFL continues to make billions and billions of dollars every year and some of these guys are homeless. They don't know who they are, and they were the ones who built this brand to where it's at.”

Jim McMahon

CHICAGO — Jim McMahon would leave home and forget how to get back.

Sometimes, he would stay in his room and lie on his back in the dark because the pain in his head was so excruciating. At his darkest moments a few years ago, when it was just about too much to handle, the former Chicago Bears quarterback thought about killing himself.

"I am glad I don't have any weapons in my house or else I am pretty sure I wouldn't be here," McMahon said. "It got to be that bad."

McMahon opened up about his struggles with early onset dementia and depression in a gathering with a small group of reporters on Tuesday, issues he believes were brought on by the beating he absorbed playing football. He is scheduled to be honored Wednesday in Chicago by the Sports Legacy Institute, a Boston University-based group that has been studying the effects of brain trauma in athletes and others.

While his suicidal thoughts are a thing of the past thanks to treatment that drains spinal fluid from his brain, the fight with dementia continues. The "punky QB" who once helped the Bears shuffle their way to a championship is also digging in for another battle, one that could have major consequences for the NFL.

McMahon is one of several players identified by name in a federal lawsuit filed in California last month accusing teams of illegally dispensing powerful narcotics and other drugs to keep players on the field without regard for their long-term health.

He also is part of a class-action lawsuit in which the NFL agreed to a $765 million settlement without acknowledging it hid the risks of concussions from former players. A federal judge has yet to approve the settlement, expressing concern the amount is too small.

While McMahon wouldn't discuss the most recent suit, he did talk about the troubles he has faced in recent years, issues he believes took root when he was getting battered on the field.

McMahon said he had three to five diagnosed concussions and who knows how many more that went undiagnosed. That's in addition injuries to the kidney, broken ribs, an addiction to painkillers and a broken neck that he said team doctors and trainers never told him about.

He found out about five years ago, when he went for X-rays and an MRI. Doctors told him he had broken his neck at some point, and McMahon believes it happened with the Minnesota Vikings during the 1993 season, when he got sandwiched by two Giants defenders in a playoff game at New York.

Nearly broken in two, McMahon couldn't move his legs at first. He eventually headed to the sideline after about 10 minutes. He didn't stay there long.

He said he went back in — "like an idiot" — and a defender trying to block a pass grazed his head. McMahon's legs went numb again and he left the game.

McMahon said the doctor asked him afterward how he felt but did not examine him. He said there's "no doubt about it," the team knew his neck was broken.

A message was left Tuesday seeking comment from the Vikings.

The dementia diagnosis came five years ago, after McMahon was having trouble remembering the most basic stuff.

He would meet someone and forget their name. For that matter, he had trouble remembering the names of people he knew for years.

That wasn't all.

He'd go out and forget the way home, so he would call his girlfriend Laurie Navon and tell her: "I don't know where I'm at. I don't know how I got on this road. I told her, 'Aliens abducted me and put me over here.'"

Navon mentioned the mood swings, seeing a man who was "mad at himself, mad at the world."

He was suffering, with excruciating pain in his head. It was so bad he would hole up in the dark in his room for weeks, only leaving if he had an appearance to make.

"I can see how some of these guys have ended their lives, because of the pain," McMahon said.

Lately, he's been getting relief from two doctors in New York. Through a machine they invented, they're able to relieve the pain in his head through a nonsurgical procedure that realigns his neck every few months.

Spinal fluid cooling in the brain brought on by a rotation in his vertebrae was causing the headaches. By realigning the neck, the fluid drains. In turn, the pain goes away for a few months, along with the short-term memory loss and moodiness.

The dementia, however, is an ongoing fight, one of several for a former quarterback going nose to nose with the league.

"The NFL continues to make billions and billions of dollars every year," McMahon said. "And some of these guys are homeless. They don't know who they are, and they were the ones who built this brand to where it's at."

Popular Comments

@ kranny, point taken, but maybe we need to make full disclosures to players,
put a higher value on their health and safety, and lower the status of football
somehow. Just a thought....

7:56 p.m. June 17, 2014

Top comment

Silent Lurker

Cottonwood Heights, UT

I feel for Jim, but I also agree with others here that he made the choice to
play football. He enjoyed many benefits from his playing days and beyond. I also
know of others who (in their fifties) are suffering from the same or different
ailments
More..